Now if you wish to go into madVR + Lav Filters + rendering from a dedicated GPU (again intel hd4000 should be good enough), then it really depends on the settings you will want it to render, for me rendering on a 2560x1440 monitor upscaling with Jincs 3 passes + Anti ring... takes my GTX580 to 55% load, but with bilinear i dont get passed 10%... so all depends on how you want it to be rendered. Personally i think its best to just go for the i3 with the HD4000 and work from there, it should be fine to play any 1080p videos, now if you are going to do some encoding/transcoding you could go into a i5 3570k or i7 3770k, again only with the HD4000 (no dedicated GPU), and test it there, and if you feel you need more because of how you want to render.... then search for GPU that can handle the specific way you want to render.

What will be the uses for this PC? i mean why do you want the XL, its a nice case but its very big.

I'm in the same boat, looking for a card (if I need one). No gaming, but I do watch HD videos and planning to get a 27" 2560x1440 monitor in the near future. I have integrated graphics now pushing Photoshop Elements but want to upgrade from my 4 year old system for Adobe CS6. Will the Intel Haswell HD 4000 integrated graphics be enough?

mailalan - if all you want to do is watch videos, then the integrated GPU is all you need.

whispercat wrote:

I'm in the same boat, looking for a card (if I need one). No gaming, but I do watch HD videos and planning to get a 27" 2560x1440 monitor in the near future. I have integrated graphics now pushing Photoshop Elements but want to upgrade from my 4 year old system for Adobe CS6. Will the Intel Haswell HD 4000 integrated graphics be enough?

You can run 2560x1440 using Displayport output and the Ivy Bridge HD4000. Haswell will have the HD 5xxx nomenclature for graphics. As for Photoshop CS6, consider this benchmark at Puget Systems. If you are really talking about Ivy Bridge and HD4000, then there is a benefit to getting a low end gfx card if you do a LOT of Photoshop work. If you meant Haswell, there is the potential for 25 to 100% bump in GPU performance. So, you might not need a separate gfx card - find out in June when the intro reviews hit.

What does that mean: HD4000 is good enough to go. Even if you had no supported GPU whatsoever, chances are good you do not use any of the "supported" features or if you use them, they are simulated through CPU.

I appreciate the advice that I do not need a separate GPU but let's assume that I do want one.

What I originally wanted to know was if can anyone recommend specific video cards that will work quietly in a non-gaming setup? For instance I've read about 660 ti's, 670's, and 680's from many different manufacturers. I've read about the different AMD cards. I've even read about passive cards and passive cards that people have rigged up silent fans with. I've seen the list of GPU reviews posted on SPCR.

What I wanted to know was cards that people here have had experience with that have satisfied them both in terms of performance and quietness. Reading about cards reviewed in a lab is one thing. Hearing about people's experience with cards is another, especially people on this forum who care more about sound levels than most.

So can anyone give me some feedback on good currently available quiet cards in general that they are happy with?

Intel HD4000 works very well. Radeon HD7750 with stock passive cooling is also good. A bit faster than the HD4000 and fast enough for my needs. Silent since it has stock passive cooling (I have a Sapphire Radeon HD7750 Ultimate). Compared to other discreet cards the HD7750 have a modest power draw while idle, something that's important to me.

What I originally wanted to know was if can anyone recommend specific video cards that will work quietly in a non-gaming setup? For instance I've read about 660 ti's, 670's, and 680's from many different manufacturers. I've read about the different AMD cards. I've even read about passive cards and passive cards that people have rigged up silent fans with. I've seen the list of GPU reviews posted on SPCR.

Well 660TI up are mostly for gaming setup, i woudlnt recommend for anyone not gaming or using heavy cuda core application. In either case as per your request, the MSI Twin Frozer and Asus Direct CUII seem good options for high end cards both in performance/noise. I just built a new setup with 3570k + 660ti twin frozer and only the initial startup is noisy, once bios/windows loads its wisper quiet, the built in vbios design makes the card be still at 40% at 75C... so even under load is not that noisy.... but i also tried to use msi afterburner to overide the fan spees, and at 50% speeds starts to become noticeable, past 60% is insane, past 70% its a jet engine, past that you will faint out of the sound waves... lol jk. But if i were buying for me, i would probably go with Asus Direct CUII cooler, SPCR already reviewed the GTX670 DirectCUII and came out good.

With that said.... i strongly recommend you dont get a dedicated gpu unless you have to, a gpu like DIRECTCUII or Twin Frozer will not exit the heat, but dump it inside the case, increaseing the case temp, which will mean other fans will have to spin up faster to to cool it, thats if you have your fans ramping, or higher temps if you have the fans steady at one speed. Intel HD4000 is more than capable for every day task for an usual computer user, it will be much more efficient in terms of cooling and electrical consumption. Haswell comes promising better iGPU performance, as steve pointed, it could be up to twice as fast, some early benches pointed around a GT640.... which is not bad for a intergarted gpu, it should even be capable run popular games like LOL/WOW.... faster decoding/encoding with more capble iGPU... etc. Overall Haswell looks like a very low gain on cpu power while almost doubling the GPU power.

If Intel onboard graphics can handle CS5 or CS6, would it be slow compared to having a dedicated GPU? How much real world visible difference would I notice between integrated graphics and say, a GTX 660ti?

If Intel onboard graphics can handle CS5 or CS6, would it be slow compared to having a dedicated GPU? How much real world visible difference would I notice between integrated graphics and say, a GTX 660ti?

There will be no difference, because CS5/6 do use GPU for a tiny fraction of all effects. And a HD4000 brings enough power compared to 4 or 5 year old GPUs.

I think the one place where integrated graphics has discrete beat is in idle current. I don't see the point in discrete unless you add some real GPU power, that 7750 is kind of weak in that respect.

If you need something better than Intel graphics but still in the low end GPU realm, look at AMD APUs. Some systems have very good idle power with low end gaming capability.

Haswell is only going to have HD 5*** graphics in the bga package mobile parts from what I have heard, desktop parts will get HD 4600 or something which will probably lag behind AMDs APUs and I fully expect Kaveri graphics will trounce anything Intel offers.

Lastly, will your video needs include blue ray playback? Intel graphics is known for having refresh rate issues that can add a stutter or something to bd playback. Most discrete cards and AMD APUs do not have that problem.

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